The Estatuilla del Baño is a bronze sculpture placed in Calle Cara, in front of the historic Baños de la Pescadería—the Arab baths originally built during the…
The Estatuilla del Baño is a bronze sculpture placed in Calle Cara, in front of the historic Baños de la Pescadería—the Arab baths originally built during the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba in the 10th century, and later renovated in the 14th and 15th centuries. The statue represents a figure at rest in a bathing setting, reflecting the refined culture of hygiene and leisure that characterised life in al-Andalus. On its base, an evocative verse by the Córdoba-born 11th-century poet Ibn Shuhayd reads: “Astounded by the beauties of these baths, time has come to tinge the skylights on your ceiling with the blushes of the twilight.” The placement of the statuette outside the ancient hammam symbolises Córdoba’s rich Islamic heritage of bathing culture under the Umayyads, combining poetry, art, and architecture. The nearby baths have been declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Property of Cultural Interest) and recognised as a Historic Ensemble since 1954.